Harry allen



ALLEN.

SHELL FUSE (No Model.)

Patented June 16, 1896.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY ALLEN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

SHELL-FUSE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 562,061, dated June 16,1896. Application filed January 17,1893. Serial No. 458,683. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be' it known that I, HARRY ALLEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at London,

England, have invented new and useful I1nproveinents in Shell-Fuses, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to shell-fuses; and it has for its object toprovide means whereby the high explosives may be safely used inprojectiles and certainly exploded when desired; and to these ends myinvention consists in the features of construction and an. rangement,substantially as are hereinafter more particularly pointed out.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional viewshowing the shell provided with my improved shell-fuse; and Fig. 2 is atransverse section through the shell-fuse on the line y 2', Fig. 1.

My invention is designed more particularly to provide means whereby thehigh explosives which are perfectly safe in handling and are capable ofthe highest destructive force can be discharged with perfect safety froman ordinary powder-gun and be exploded with certainty at the time orplace desired, and while my invention may be utilized in connection withthe high explosives which are known as the nitro-derivatives, andconsisting, essentially, of an oxidizing agent, such as a nitrate and ahydrocarbon, it may be used with other classes of explosives.

In carrying out my invention I arrange a shell-fuse, which may beprovided with an ordinary time-fuse or a percussion-fuse, and whichcarries a detonator of that class which will insure the explosion ordischarge of the high explosives contained in the shell, and I will nowproceed to describe what I consider to be the preferred embodiment of myinvention.

The shell S, which is indicated in outline only, may be of any ordinaryor desired construction and may contain the high explosive arranged inany desired formthat is, it may be loaded into the shell in the form ofpowder and compressed therein, or it may be previously molded into therequired size and shape and placed into the shell, or it-may be placedin the shell in a plastic condition, when it will set hard. I find,however, that it can be used with equal effectin the form of a drynoncohesive powder, and this is the most convenient and simple way ofusing it; but when it is used in a solid form it is provided with arecess for the reception of the shell-fuse, and the recess is preferablyfilled with some other high explosive in the form of loose powder.

The shell-fuse is shown as provided with a time-fuse A, which may be ofany ordinary construction, and a case or tube B, which maybe made ofbrass or other suitable metal or material, and which may have a closedend B, and is screwed onto a nipple A, projecting from the inner end ofthe time-fuse. This time-fuse is also provided with a threaded nipple Aby which it may be secured to the nozzle of the shell.

Within the tube B are two short lengths of smaller semitube-pieces C,fitted into B and secured thereto, two small screws D, passing throughholes in B and screwing into the inner tube-pieces G, which, if desired,may be thickened at those points, as shown in the drawings, to increasethe hold of the screws. The ends of the tube-pieces O are turned over,as shown at O, to afford a holding for a block E, of india-rubber, cork,or other shockabsorbing material, through the center of which passes thefulminate detonator F, being thus completely held in the rubber block E.The edges of the tube-pieces G, as shown in the drawings, preferably donot meet, so as to allow freedom and convenience in insert-ing thesepieces with the rubber block between them into the tube B. The portionof the tube B between the holding device 0 E and the end of the tube maybe filled with the powder explosive G, as indicated in Fig. 1. I find itdesirable that the tube 13 should be closed in at the end B, so as toprotect the powder around the detonator from the effect of the shockwhen the projectile is discharged from the gun, which shock has theeffect of compressing the explosive, which if in the form of powderwould be likely to discharge the detonator if it were not protected inthe manner indicated.

While various detonators may be used, I prefer to use afulminatc-of-mercury detonator, and in operating the flash from the timeor percussion fuse passes from the fuse to the detonator inside thetube, and thus it ignites the detonator, which, exploding, causes theexplosion of the high-explosive shell.

It will be seen that the detonator is held elastically in theshock-absorbing material, so that there is no danger of exploding itwhen the projectile is fired; but it can be safely used to produce theexplosion of the shell at the proper time.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. A shell-fuse comprisingthe case,the semitube-piecessecured thereto,the shock-absorbing material mounted in the tube-piecesand a detonator mounted in the block, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the shell, of a shell-fuse secured to the nozzleof the shell witnesses;

HARRY ALLEN.

\Vitnesses:

HAROLD WADE, THOMAS LAKE.

